I came here to mention Face in the Crowd about which there is a nice postat Slate. It is indeed a terrific performance by Griffith, very different from his later, famous TV roles.
I had the honor once of playing the assistant D.A. in an episode of Matlock with him.
He was a total gentleman and chewed the fat with all of us extras during the down-time.
Sherriff Taylor will always be the best law-man ever.
In addition to Face in the Crowd, one of his great villain performances was in Murder in Coweta County, an early '80s TV movie with Johnny Cash based on a true story. (June Carter Cash plays a country witch- the character is not only real but the real one was a much more over-the-top character.) The movie’s available in full on YouTube and is a must-see for those who’ve only seen folksy friendly Andy.
I recall interviews with Andy where he said it took him several months to shake off that character in A Face in The Crowd. The experience shook him up enough that he avoided heavy dramatic roles for quite awhile. His acting was really good in the Griffith show. At first he tried being the comic lead like in No Time for Sergeants. Then realized it worked better to let the Sheriff be the straight man to Barney and the other characters.
G’bye Ange, we’ll miss you.
According to this: http://www.wavy.com/dpps/entertainment/celebrity_news/ems-called-to-andy-griffiths-nc-home_4226631?hpt=hp_t2
He died this morning and was laid to rest at 11:30am. That seems unusual these days. Seems like it would take longer than a few hours to get a casket delivered and the grave dug. Unless that was already done. :eek:
Doesn’t take long to dig a grave with a backhoe.
[del]Or dynamite.[/del]
Forgot, Manteo is on the coast. Chances are they didn’t really need to dig, just sort of push down real hard.
That one makes me cry.
Wow I just got the sad news here in Mount Pilot. 
The “Andy Griffith Show” may seem corny to some but it sure was one enjoyable show to watch and it brings back a lot of memories from my youth.
RIP Andy Taylor
“Ain’t Bea, call the man.” (remember that one?)
That seems a bit odd. Wonder what the story behind that was.
Can’t remember if it was “American Masters” but PBS did a segment on him. Very heart warming. Another childhood memory gone. Dang.
They just threw a rock at a loaded goat where they wanted the grave.
If his wife is remarried by dinnertime I’m calling the North Carolina Attorney General.
Griffith was born and raised in Mt. Airy. You’ll frequently read-hear that Mt. Airy was the inspiration for Mayberry, and certainly the town cashes in on the connection (though to me it will always be far more famous as the adopted hometown of Chang and Eng Bunker), but this was apparently a pet peeve of Griffith’s as I never once heard it brought up in an interview with him when he did not take time to correct it. He said repeatedly that while he and Andy Taylor were both from small town North Carolina, Mayberry was a fictional place and any connection between it and Mt. Airy were coincidental. In one interview he said that there were episodes and personalities inspired by people he knew from Mt. Airy, but no more than were inspired by people Don Knotts had known in West Virginia or Jim Nabors had known in Sylacauga and less than were just made up by the writers. So if his shade is turning channels, he must be irritated at all of the “born in Mt. Airy, the inspiration for Mayberry” that seems to accompany every televised and aired obituary.
Many may associate Manteo with The Lost Colony and some may know that there’s an outdoor pageant there commemorating it, but may not realize that the pageant is a big deal and has some big talent. A few years ago Lynn Redgrave appeared as Queen Elizabeth in it for a summer, the Broadway actor Terence Mann (Broadway’s first Javert in Les Mis among other major roles) spent a summer there and there have been other big names associated with it. Griffith appeared there when he was young and just starting out and played Sir Walter Raleigh in one summer’s production.
To be born and raised in the same town as the Siamese Twins and to die and be buried near the Lost Colony would seem in and of themselves indicative of a life well lived to me. I just hope his tombstone reads “CROATOAN”, or, failing that, “Mmmmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmmmh!”
My guess is that were trying to keep the funeral private. Can’t blame them. I would hate to have press at a loved one’s funeral.
…or the Godamn Phelpses.
Slight hijack..
I was born & raised in Coweta County. I have older family members who knew both Sheriff Lamar Potts & John Wallace. If you liked the movie, be aware that the book has a bit more depth & some twists & turns that didn’t make it into the movie.
Hijack over.
I love the old B&W episodes of the Andy Griffith Show.
RIP Andy.
I love the book. There are also a couple about Mahayley Lancaster (June Carter Cash’s character). Lamar Potts’s son was actually an advisor on the film, which is why they incorporated such things as his singing “When You and I Were Young, Maggie” and Potts being a terrible driver.
Returning to topic, Griffith met his third wife- now widow, Cindi, on the set of that movie. She was an extra and a crew member.
I heard the 911 call from his wife. I’m missing something here. She called and said he was unconscious. Would a coroner rule on the cause of death so quickly? Does this mean he was already terminally ill?
They were discussing this on the radio on my way home and said that the funeral was already planned and all the arrangements in place. Apparently his death was expected.
I’m imagining a coffin being loaded onto the back of a pickup truck, which in turn the Darlings sit on and pick and play til it’s taken the few hundred yards to the buryin’ hole out back. Speaking of,
[QUOTE=notfrommensa]
Warren, Charlene Darling, and Ellie Walker are also still living.
[/QUOTE]
The Dillards, who played Charlene’s silent brothers, are still alive and still perform (along with other members of their family married or born since the show).